Lower Intermediate | Gr. 3-4

Experiential Learning

Building a strong educational foundation begins with skill development. We take teaching the “how” to the next level by exploring the “why” so students develop a stronger foundation and deeper understanding. Students learn through discovery, self-exploration and problem solving. It is common to see our students exploring our 75 acre campus.

Theme-based learning is a vital part of the Lower Intermediate curriculum at Maumee Valley. Teachers enable students to really get inside a subject by going beyond the textbook. Students are given the opportunity to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to the real world through overnight excursions to Michigan’s Camp Storer, and South Bass Island in Ohio. These trips further help students learn through observation and hands-on-experience.

A Maumee Valley Lower Intermediate education is a dynamic process in which teachers are constantly creating new learning experiences. Students are required to demonstrate their understanding and apply their skills in a variety of projects, simulations, field trips and problem solving activities. A small sampling of these activities is listed here:

Collaborative learning experiences teach Primary and Middle School students as they observe and record changes that occur in an outdoor ecosystem in the surrounding 75-acre campus.

Organization of Native American tribal societies, each associated with a different biome, assists students in understanding how geographical conditions influence a community’s way of life and culture.

Identifying, producing, and marketing a range of holiday products, which are sold during an Economics Fair. Profit from the fair is given to a local charity.

Students post their writing on a professional author’s web page so they can receive feedback from other students and professional writers across the country.

Numerous field trips to the Art Museum, Toledo Symphony, Camp Storer in Michigan, Sauder Village, and local businesses, connect students to the local region.

These hands-on experiences allow us to share the world with our students and provide them with a global, enriching education.

Character Development

While academic and intellectual development are top priorities in the Lower Intermediate, equally important is developing caring citizens who demonstrate high levels of social skills and empathy for others. At Maumee Valley, we value cultural difference and individual personality.

The Maumee Valley Lower School uses the nationally recognized Stop and Think program and All Kinds of Minds material to assist students in developing the attributes of being responsible, respectful, caring and trustworthy community members.

Our attention to character results in caring and accepting students, which in turn, makes for a learning environment where students feel safe taking risks and being themselves. Maumee Valley frequently provides students with character development opportunities in the greater community by participating in various community-related activities.

Reading To Learn

Teachers of these grades help students make the leap from learning to read to reading to learn. Building on the foundations laid in the primary grades, academic lessons are structured thematically to increase connectedness across the disciplines, enhance their comprehension, and enrich their learning.